


Alright, I Find the Dark Forest Quite Charming, But...

by victoriousscarf



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-21
Updated: 2014-08-21
Packaged: 2018-02-14 02:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2174862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/victoriousscarf/pseuds/victoriousscarf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neville is the knight who thinks he's fudged everything trying to save the princess in the tower.</p><p>Luna is the princess who was worried about being saved by entirely the wrong sort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alright, I Find the Dark Forest Quite Charming, But...

By the time he had slipped through the tangled forest and gotten past the sleeping dragon and up the stairs to the top of the tower, Neville had decided something had gone wrong.

Because he certainly should not have gotten this far, and considering his inability to actually remove any of the obstacles in his path, he was unsure how he was supposed to get not only himself but the princess back out.

Hesitating in front of the door, he took a deep breath before knocking, feeling even more foolish than he had coming up the stairs. There was a moment’s pause before a clear voice rang out, “Come in.”

Neville pushed the door open, walking into a curiously painted room, with Princess Luna Lovegood sitting behind a table, a book spread out before her. He was unsure, but her expression looked disappointed and even irritated. “Oh, so you are a knight then.”

He floundered for words. “Yes. Erm, yes. I am, Sir. Neville Longbottom… and I guess I came here to rescue you.”

She folded her hands over the book on the table, eyes dreamy but still something irked about the twist of her mouth. “So, I suppose you cut your way through the tangled, seething forest to get here.”

“Well,” he started, failed, and had to try again. “Not precisely.”

“No?” she asked, cocking her head to one side.

“No, I… The vines were just so interesting!” he blurted. “I couldn’t just chop them down. I mean, they move! And they have the most interesting flowers on them, I’m sure if I had enough time to study them,” and he abruptly cut himself off because knights of the realm did not study plants and flowers. “I mean. Um. No. I didn’t cut anything down. Besides, if you flash some firelight on them, from say a lantern most of the vines just move out of the way for you. An open flame would probably be,” and he stopped himself from saying too dangerous. Nervously he rubbed a gloved hand across the back of his neck, chainmail clanking slightly as he moved.

Luna, however, seemed to look a bit happier before her expression turned again.

“And I suppose you killed the trolls who guarded the path?”

“Erm,” Neville started again. “No. I bribed them with mead and they gave me their donkey to lead me to the bridge across the moat. I hadn’t even heard there was a bridge I thought I’d have to… cut down a tree or something. It was a really nice bridge,” he added and stopped.

“I always quite liked it too,” she said happily.

“You’ve, erm, seen it?” he asked in surprise and she shrugged.

“What about the riddle?” she asked.

“Oh,” Neville sighed. “That was hard. I… I’m not very good at riddles or things like that. But, it was actually one I recognized, Ron taught me it though I think he learned it from Hermione so I didn’t have to fight the sphinx she just let me through. Really nice about the whole thing too actually, I thought they were supposed to be scarier.”

The princess looked like the last question was the one she wanted to ask least. “And the dragon?”

“The dragon,” Neville rubbed his gloved fingers over his eyes. “Is still alive. I’m not actually sure how I plan on getting you back out of here. He was sleeping when I went by, it was probably my only hope of slaying him and getting past but… he just looked so majestic and wonderful, sleeping there with his tail twitching. It was like an overgrown cat and I just couldn’t…” he sighed again, shoulders slumping. “Oh. I’ve never been a good knight. I can’t even find it in me to slay a dragon when I get the chance.”

When he dared to look up, Luna was beaming at him. “You are perfect,” she said and he blinked. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“But,” he started. “I came to rescue you. I’m not sure I can actually get you back out.”

She rose gracefully and he realized her dress was… much shorter than most ladies of the court wore, and her arms almost bare with some gauzy thing wrapped around her shoulders and again around her chest and waist. Her skirt was made up of an array of colors, each piece of fabric wrapped around at different lengths and… her necklace was of a radish?

“You are completely perfect,” she repeated. “I never expected to find such a nice knight. We’ll have to send word out as soon as possible so another one doesn’t blunder in here and ruin everything.”

“Um?” he tried again as she came over, taking both his hands in hers.

“You did everything right,” she said, eyes gleaming. “Everything. My poor father, darling man that he was, stuck me back here when he had to abdicate the throne. He wanted to keep me from being used in a politic marriage with his successors, I think. It was never a punishment.”

“It,” Neville stared. “It wasn’t? But, the dark forest, and the trolls and the sphinx, and the dragon! There’s a dragon at the gates! Alright, I find the dark forest quite charming but…”

 “I’ve been so worried,” she said. “Since stories started about the trapped princess that some knight would come and ruin everything but they haven’t! You came instead and you didn’t destroy a single thing on your way in. You must come to tea, I’ll invite Hubert.”

“Hubert?” Neville asked weakly, confused.

“Yes, I’ll send word out to tell the tale of the brave—Neville you said? Yes, the brave Sir. Neville who used his mind instead of his brawn and won the fair princess and then you can be famous and I won’t have to worry anymore. Yes. Oh, you’re coming to tea aren’t you?”

“Hubert?” Neville repeated.

“Yes, dear, that’s the dragon.”

He thought he would fall over, listing to the side slightly, her hands still holding his. “You don’t think we’ll have to get married, do you?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. “I suppose it would make a better story.”

“Um,” he managed, the only sound he could make and still not fall over.

“Have some tea first,” she said, patting the back of his hand. “It’ll bring color back to your cheeks. Then we can talk some more.”

“Alright,” he said and let himself be pulled, still in his armor, as she chatted happily and went to wake up the dragon.

**Author's Note:**

> I just really wanted to write Neville as a sorta Fail!But-really-succeed!Knight and Luna as the non-traditional princess in the tower who loves her dragon. Tho even when I try to ship them they turn themselves into platonic life partners instead and though this was supposed to be a one shot once I started writing it I decided there could be three places for it to go, and how interesting Harry and Draco would be as rival knights and... But it's entirely possible this will stay as it is. Read your own interpretation into it if you like


End file.
